Our world is changing fast. So fast, in fact, that it can be hard for even the savviest marketers to keep up. You now have so many different ways to get your marketing message across. Apps, proximity marketing, and push marketing, are just a few of the new techniques available to you and then of course there is email marketing.
Is Email Advertising Dead?
There are so many new options out there, that email marketing may seem a little outdated. Should we even worry about email marketing in this current climate? According to research conducted by 99firms, 40% of marketers believe that email marketing will stay at the same level through to 2020.
In the same study, 26% of respondents thought it would increase, and 14% of respondents thought it would increase a lot. In total, therefore, around 80% of marketers believed that the use of email as a marketing tactic is to stay. So, even though it isn’t the new kid on the block, there is still a lot of room for growth.
Hacking Email Outreach
Email outreach can be highly effective if it is handled properly. If your campaigns are getting lack-luster results, there are a few things that you need to consider.
The Open Rate for Your Campaigns
It always amazes me when businesses don’t follow up on how many emails have been opened. This is the most important statistic to find out and is easy to check with a number of different CMS products. Start by checking this information on your last campaign or, if need be, on your new campaign.
This statistic highlights fundamental issues like invalid addresses, whether or not the subject line was effective, etc.
Clear Up Your Database
This is tedious work – you know it, and I know it. It is something that is essential, though. Look at it this way – you pay for every email sent out by your CMS program. If the addresses are incorrect, then that is a waste of money.
You may also have more than one address for some of your clients. Sending to addresses is a waste of money and can also have the undesired effect of irritating clients. Who wants to get the same email sent to both their home and work email address, for example? This is more likely to look like spam and therefore to end up being Black-Listed.
Review Your Subject Line
Once you have gone in and cleared up your database and you know who opened your mail and who didn’t. Now it is time to look at the email itself. Your subject line is crucial to the success of the campaign.
Without a great subject line, it won’t matter how much work you did on the landing page or if you build the perfect website. If the subject line is not enticing enough, people are not going to bother even to read the email at all.
Getting the subject line right means walking a fine line. You want the email heading to function like click-bait without actually looking like click-bait. I would advise trying different types of headings and then checking which ones lead to the highest open rate in order to fine-tune what is best for your audience.
Finally: Keep the Email Short and to the Point
There is a time and a place to send a client a long email message. Email marketing is neither the time nor place to send long messages. Get to the point quickly, make the email entertaining and keep the offer enticing. Refer clients to the landing page if they want more information and them make sure that the landing page is well optimised, has a clear call to action and gets the visitor to engage with your website.
Keeping the email as simple as possible makes sense. It sends your client an unconscious message that you understand that their time is valuable and that you don’t want to waste it.
Follow the 80/20 Rule
The 80/20 rule is something that we follow on social media. What it essentially means is that 80% of posts should be completely unrelated to sales. You can follow this same tactic with email marketing.
Find information that interests your client base. Maybe it could be news about upcoming events in town. Or maybe an article on something that interests them – like great family recipes, etc. Or what about some other business that is complementary to yours that is running a special?
Think useful above all else when composing your emails. People are easily annoyed by being continually blasted with sales messages. Change things up a lot by making your email campaigns a valuable resource to to clients as well as a marketing tool to you.
That way, they watch for the emails, and your open rates will improve drastically.
Using these tips, you will be able to resurrect your email campaigns… You just have to approach them a little differently.
